{{Short description|Christian ministry involving clowns}} '''Clown ministry''' is a type of [[Christian ministry]] involving [[Clown|clowns]]. It is primarily found in North American churches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kerman |first=Judith B. |date=September 1992 |title=The Clown as Social Healer: A Study of the Clown Ministry Movement |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1542-734X.1992.00009.x |journal=Journal of American Culture |language=en |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=9–16 |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.1992.00009.x |issn=0191-1813|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Theology == Participants in clown ministry have pointed to multiple rationale to explain and justify clown ministry. One such rationale is the idea of [[foolishness for Christ]], in which social expectations are subverted in order to further Christian ideals or [[proselytism]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1986-10-24 |title=Sunday service will offer some 'giggles' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3OxSAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA12&article_id=6741,4955972 |access-date=2024-04-07 |work=The Courier |pages=1C}}</ref>
== Activities == Clown ministry can take multiple forms, including taking part in Sunday services, visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and prisons,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=1983-07-23 |title=Clown ministry says religion can be fun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0ZgAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA64&article_id=5024,2111605 |access-date=2024-04-07 |work=The Phoenix |pages=D10 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and appearance in festivals and parades.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-10-26 |title=Never Forget About Christian Clown Ministry |url=https://relevantmagazine.com/current/buzzworthy/never-forget-about-christian-clown-ministry/ |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=RELEVANT |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Abrahams |first=Marc |date=2010-01-12 |title=Clowning for Christ – dos and don'ts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jan/12/improbable-research-clowns |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Basler |first1=George |last2=McKinney |first2=Connie |date=2015-11-04 |title=Christian troupe spreads cheer by clowning around |url=https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/connections/faith/2015/11/04/christian-troupe-spreads-cheer-clowning-around/75157672/ |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=Press & Sun-Bulletin |language=en-US}}</ref> Clowns involved often take part in traditional clown activities, such as creating [[Balloon modelling|balloon animals]] and performing skits, although often using Christian symbolism, stories, or themes.<ref name=":3" />
== History == Clown ministry largely dates back to the 1970s and early 1980s, with clowns such as Floyd Shaffer and the publication of Janet Litherland's ''The Clown Ministry Handbook'' in 1982.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> However, it retains influences from historical European tropes such as the [[holy Fool]], "the [[country bumpkin]], [[Commedia dell'arte]] figures, and the [[Jester|court jester]]".<ref name=":0" /> In the late 1970s, [[Franklin & Marshall College]] in Pennsylvania began hosting the National Clown, Mime, Puppet and Dance Ministry workshop.<ref name=":1" /> Their July 1983 iteration saw more than 700 people attend the week-long workshop.<ref name=":1" />
In 1983, the [[Associated Press]] estimated that thousands of clown ministry groups had been founded in the United States since 1973,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1983-01-15 |title=Most Vulnerable Most Receptive To Clown Ministry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kAiAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA4&article_id=1277,1145263 |access-date=2024-04-07 |work=Boca Raton News |pages=7 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and that 50,000 Americans were involved with a clown ministry group.<ref name=":1" /> Spin-off groups, such as those using [[Mime artist|pantomime]] in ministry,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Toomey |first=Susie Kelly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-UMAAAACAAJ |title=Mime Ministry: An Illustrated, Easy-to-follow Guidebook for Organizing, Programming, and Training a Troupe of Christian Mimes |date=1986 |publisher=Meriwether Pub. |isbn=978-0-916260-37-8 |language=en}}</ref> also formed.
The 1980s and 90s saw clown ministry groups formed at churches, on college campuses,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1989-03-26 |title=Fools for Christ is a ministry of sharing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EL89AAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA3&article_id=6791,4356112 |access-date=2024-06-19 |work=Bonham Daily Favorite |pages=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Lois M. |date=1991-11-09 |title=Clown ministry shares Christianity's joy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RN8oAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA6&article_id=4980,3346341 |access-date=2024-04-07 |work=The Deseret News |pages=B3}}</ref> and, in the case of the [[Benedictine Sisters of Erie]], Pennsylvania, religious communities.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-01-04 |title=Goodwill Ambassadors in Clown Suits |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XMBdAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22clown+ministry%22&pg=PA44&article_id=5310,816287 |access-date=2024-04-07 |work=The Victoria Advocate |pages=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> == References == <references />
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Graves |first=Michael P. |date=1990-03-01 |title=THE CLOWNING GLORY: RATIONALE AND PRACTICAL USES FOR RELIGIOUS BOZOS|journal= Journal of Communication & Religion|doi=10.5840/jcr19901313 |via= EBSCOhost |url=https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd:14173834?sid=ebsco:plink:crawler&id=ebsco:gcd:14173834 |access-date=2024-08-13 |language=en|url-access=subscription }}
{{Clowns}}
[[Category:Christian missions]] [[Category:Clowning]]